No
one knows the name of the first Catholic to set foot in what
is now the Albany Diocese. That's because the history of Catholicism
in the region begins far earlier than the official creation
of the Diocese on April 23, 1847.

That
first footstep could have been taken by one of the anonymous
Irish monks who, many historians believe, sailed the North Atlantic
long before Christopher Columbus. But it's doubtful that those
visitors, if they got to North America at all, ventured so far
inland. Maybe it was a French voyageur from Canada, canoeing
down the Hudson to Beverwyck in search of fur. It might have
been a Dutch sailor visiting Fort Orange or an Irish soldier
in the service of the British Army.

Whoever
it was, Catholics have been present in what is now the Albany
Diocese for almost 300 years since at least the early
settlers of the 17th century. Jesuit missionaries, using Quebec
as their base, worked among the Iroquois, particularly the Mohawks.
St. Isaac Jogues, the French Jesuit missionary, was martyred
in Auriesville in 1646. Toward the end of the 17th century,
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, a Huron/Mohawk native, a product
of the French missions along the Mohawk River where she was
born, died. In the 17th century, other Catholics were present in what
became the Albany Diocese, particularly French and Irish, including
priests.

Long
before the Declaration of Independence was signed, Scottish
Catholics with their Irish priest were brought to the Mohawk
valley by Sir William Johnson. After the American Revolution,
Irish Catholics and a few escapees from the French Revolution
immigrated here, as did French Canadians. By 1797, there were
enough Catholics in Albany to support the building of St. Mary's
Church, the second Catholic church in New York State.

In
the ensuing 50 years, mission routes were established using
the interlinking Mohawk and the Hudson/Champlain valleys as
west, north and south corridors. New York was originally part
of the Baltimore See, the only diocese in the United States
until 1808 when the New York See was established. Over time,
the counties contiguous to New York City became associated with
that diocese, while Albany was the center for the rest of the
state.

Since
Buffalo became a diocese at the same time as Albany, the area
was divided so that Buffalo acquired a north/south corridor
that included Rochester on west. Albany had the rest of upper
New York from Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties on the
south to the Syracuse area on the west, Canada on the north,
and Vermont and Massachusetts on the east. (Subsequently, Ogdensburg
and Syracuse were partitioned into their own dioceses, in 1872
and 1886 respectively.)

By
1847, 12 churches had been built and a dozen priests ministered
in the area that now defines the Albany Diocese. Rt. Rev. John
McCloskey, one of the first American-born priests in New York,
became the Diocese's first bishop. Toward the end of the Civil
War, he went back to New York City as archbishop (he would later
become the first cardinal of the United States). But before
he left Albany, he had increased the numbers of religious institutions,
while the numbers of churches and priests rose by approximately
300 percent.

The
second half of the 19th century was a time of massive immigration,
especially from Ireland and Germany, as families due
to economic privations, military impressment, religious persecution
and other reasons searched for the income and freedoms
promised in America. Throughout the Diocese, those immigrants
founded churches to serve their nationalities: Irish, German,
French, Italian, Polish, Lithuanian, Slovak and Ukrainian.

To
minister to them, several religious communities were brought
into the Diocese. The Religious of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters
of Mercy and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet came to
teach girls in both parish and private schools; the Christian
Brothers arrived to teach boys and eventually to maintain two
male orphanages, one in Albany and one in Troy. The Daughters
of Charity, who already directed an orphanage for girls in Albany,
were asked to start one in Troy, as well as a hospital, St.
Mary's.

The
Society of Jesus and the Fathers of the Order of Saint Augustine
came as parish priests to Troy, while the Franciscan Fathers
of the Order of Minor Conventual arrived to serve German-speaking
churches in Schenectady and Gloversville.

Rev.
John J. Conroy, who had been the pastor of St. Joseph's parish
in Albany, became the Diocese's second bishop in 1865, the year
Abraham Lincoln died. Although he was active only 12 years,
under his auspices more parishes were formed, and religious
communities were expanded and introduced to staff ever-widening
educational and social services. Among those services was St.
Peter's Hospital, started in Albany by the Sisters of Mercy.
They also opened an orphanage and industrial school in Greenbush
(East Albany or Rensselaer).

Bishop
Conroy also brought in the Little Sisters of the Poor, who started
homes for the aged in Troy and Albany, as well as the Sisters
of the Good Shepherd, who worked with girls at the Reformatory
of the Good Shepherd and St. Anne's School of Industry.

Closing
out the 19th century as head of the Diocese was Bishop Francis
McNierney, who was installed in 1877. He completed the imposing
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, begun by his predecessors
and modeled on the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany. Leading the
Diocese into the new century was Bishop Thomas Burke, a native
of Ireland and another pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Albany
(where he had been stationed for 30 years from the
end of the Civil War until his appointment as bishop). He served
from 1894 until 1915.

The
brief World War I-era stint of Bishop Thomas Cusack, a noted
preacher, was followed by the longest tenure of any Albany bishop:
Edmund Gibbons, who served from 1919 to 1954. The son of Irish
immigrants and a laborer who helped build the State Capitol
in Albany, Bishop Gibbons was remarkable for the leadership
he provided through the Depression and World War II, a leadership
that inspired many religious vocations and spawned building
programs that resulted in parishes springing up throughout the
Diocese. With education as one of his themes, he oversaw the
beginning of The College of Saint Rose, Siena College, Mater
Christi Seminary, 22 high schools, 82 grade schools and the
diocesan newspaper, The Evangelist.

His
successors Bishop William Scully, Bishop Edward Maginn
and Bishop Edwin Broderick led the Church at Albany
into the second half of the 20th century, building new parishes
as suburbs were populated, attending the Second Vatican Council
and then promulgating the documents of that historic meeting
of Church Fathers throughout the sprawling Diocese.

In 1977, a native of the Diocese, Howard J. Hubbard of Troy,
was named bishop. His tenure has been marked by the goals outlined
in his two pastoral letters: collaboration, collegiality and
shared responsibility. Under his guidance, lay men and women
have assumed positions of leadership in parishes and in diocesan
departments. He has also continued a long-standing tradition
in the Diocese: reaching out to those of other denominations
and faiths. In historic events, he has established strong relations
with the Albany Episcopal Diocese, hosted a reconciliation service
with the Jewish community, cooperated with other Christians
on important social issues and spoken from the pulpits of other
churches.

The
history of the Albany Diocese is still being written.

Statistics

Diocese Established: April 23, 1847

Area:
10,419 Square Miles

Total population of the 15 County Diocese: approx. 1,392,464
(as of 2011)

Catholic population of the
15 County Diocese: approx. 330,000
(as of December 2011)